Kronik Low-Carb

I decided that it's been too long to have not reviewed Kronik's sibling, Kronik Low-Carb. After much thought, I knew it was time to review it, rather than a few other good ones I had in mind for today. I got this drink at Circle K, along with the regular Kronik; I'm sure you'll find a Kronik or two if you go to your local Circle K, they're everywhere. An energy drink sounds perfect today, just because I spent the first half of the day preparing for my upcoming trip, so let's describe this one briefly. The can design is fairly new being a section of blue barbed wire in front of a bright, gleaming silver background. 'Low-Carb' is stamped crooked onto the metallic can and spray painted black with abstract markings out and around it. I see the word 'Kronik in large sloppy letters and filled in blue, making it look pretty cool looking and rugged. I take a glance to the bottom right of the can where it says "Sweetened With Splenda"; whatever, at least they went out and said it is, unlike other companies that try to sneak it in their drinks. Just like most other sugar free energy drinks, this one may suppress my appetite, and it literally says that on the way bottom of the can. Okay, let's see how this compares to the Kronik as well as other sugar free drinks.

I crack open the can eager and extremely excited to smell a strong cotton candy aroma with an equal amount of grapefruit and pineapple. The color of this aromatic energy drink is a lively blue color, I'd say the same blue color they used on the can. At first, I'm a bit hesitant to take a sip because sugar free energy drinks seem to disappoint me, but this one is actually a whole lot better than I was expecting it to be. Unlike the scent, there's no cotton candy flavor to it at all, but a nice smooth grapefruit taste backed up by a bit of pineapple and possibly some lemon-lime flavor in the background. The flavor in general is great, tastes exactly like the original and the Splenda is masked incredibly. There's no artificial aftertaste whatsoever, one thing I noticed in this greatly masked sugar free energy drink. I'm sorry for this ramble but you know, If I was given a glass of Kronik and a glass of Kronik Low Carb, I'd think they gave me two of the same drink. The foamy head I witnessed earlier lied to me, insisting on a heavily carbonated drink, this one isn't heavily carbonated but lightly for pure enjoyment. I only found gumminess when I experimented by taking a few large sips at a time, but now after taking my time sipping it, I found no gumminess. You can choose how you drink it, but be aware of the gumminess following. Overall, this has to be one of the best sugar free energy drink I've ever tried, ranking up to number one with the Rockstar Zero Carb.

The ingredients is where it really gets interesting. It has carbonated water, taurine, citric acid, natural flavors, sodium citrate, glucosamine, caffeine, glucuronolactone, ascorbic acid, L-Tyrosine, ginger root extract, grape seed extract, licorice root extract, guarana, ginseng, milk thistle, ginkgo biloba, and Sucralose. Wow. I believe I did taste a bit of ginger root extract, it's minor but there's still just a bit in the background. The combination of grape seed, licorice root, milk thistle, and ginkgo biloba produces a real masterful energy drink, in terms of delivering some massive focus and energy. I also notice caffeine is pretty high up the list, I wonder how much is in one of these. Per can, you get 20 calories and only 2g of carbs (NO sugar, just carbohydrates). Energy content per can goes something like this: taurine is 2,000mg, glucosamine is 200mg, glucuronolactone is 150mg, L-Tyrosine is 100mg, ginger root is 100mg, grape seed is 100mg, licorice root is 100mg, guarana is 100mg, ginseng is 100mg, inositol is 50mg, milk thistle is 50mg, ginkgo biloba is 50mg, and L-Carnitine is 20mg. Hm, I wonder why they won't reveal the caffeine content, oh well. All in all, an insane energy drink, I loved every drop of it, and I know you will too. Get yourself a pair of Kroniks now.

Taste: 8.8 - A crisper and not-so-artificial version of the regular Kronik
Kick: 9 - Wow, the energy drink is set up with all the licorice root, milk thistle, grape seed, and ginkgo to produce one great kick
Overall: 8.9 - I'm interested in get a few more of these; they're great for something to drink when you don't want all those calories and all that sugar

Reviewed by: Chan

Venom Mojave Rattler Low Carb

Wow, what an odd drink. As I was on my routine grocery run at Albertson's, I ran into the Venom energy drinks. Of course I couldn't resist because it's so eye catching and has a real cool can design. Instead having your usual 8 or 16 ounce can, Venom went with a bottle shaped can, like beer except not as long of a neck. It also has a twist-off cap and is painted more glossy, as if there were a wrapper over the bottle. Perhaps it's a different type of paint used. Venom Low Carb has part of a black snake's face showing a gleaming purple eye with a dagger shaped pupil. Behind that is a plain and simple background with the word "Venom" using the V and part of the M shaped to make fangs. A last minute glance at the bottom of the can reveals that Venom is a whopping 16.9 fluid ounces, about the size of a bottle of water. I'm so eager to open this one up, so excuse this short paragraph...

I twist off the cap excitedly and get a cool, refreshing Lo-Carb Monster aroma. Nice. Out of the bottle, I see a predicted golden amber color with very little fizziness to go along with it. This Venom really surprised me, I had never expected a sweet taste. Instead of am expected Low Carb energy drink taste, Venom decided to punch you with a sweet red apple and mixed berry taste. Unlike Monster, this drink is more sweet than sour and most likely contains more sucralose than it. It fades away with a duller apple and some (possibly) bell pepper, which gets me thinking, "Venom could have added a bell pepper taste because the theme is 'Mojave Rattler' and the Mojave is in the desert." The aftertaste is similar to the regular taste, except I can taste the presence of more pepper lingering and little apple. The carbonation is moderate, leaving a slight tingle on the tongue and just a bit going down. For a low carb drink, I was surprised to find quite a bit of gumminess, just enough to bug you. Overall, I was very pleased that Venom broke apart from the mainstream energy drink companies and put a distinct low carb flavor out on the market.

Ingredients come next. This beast has carbonated water, glucose (Phew! Nice to get away from that HFCS), taurine, natural and artificial flavors, ginseng, guarana, caffeine, caramel color, sucralose, acesulfame potassium, riboflavin, and cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B-12). I had expected sucralose to be high up in the ingredients, but I'm happy to announce that it's not. Per can, you get a bit more calories than average low carb energy drink, containing 50. Well, how low really is the carb count in this bottle? I'll tell you it's only 8g per can and only 6g of sugar. The energy blend is a whopping 6,000mg per can, a true energy drink is this one here. Although 160mg of caffeine doesn't seem a lot in an energy drink, I can tell you right now, I am energized. If you want an energy drink that'll just knock you on the ground, you go anywhere you can and pick up one of these, you won't be sorry. It's a fairly new product and I've been seeing them everywhere, you can't miss it. Even though they say you can't judge a book by its cover, I think you can with Venom, one of the most extreme can designs I have come across.

Taste: 8.7 - Oh, what an amazing taste for a low carb drink
Kick: 8.5 - It's sure to get you jittery
Overall: 8.6 - I can easily say that this one was a pass

Reviewed by: Chan